Domestic and global outsourcing is prescribed for everything from back office services like information technology development, human resource transactions, and indirect procurement to core services such as innovation, research and development, marketing and customer care. While the vision of global sourcing using multiple suppliers that are agile, effective, and cost efficient is certainly achievable, it requires an immense amount of detailed management to make it work.

Not surprisingly, outsourcing IT and back office functions, especially, has received immense attention in trade journals, the media and in supplier and consulting marketing outlets. This has led to a cacophony of opinions on what works and what does not, and what the record actually is on outsourcing strategy and implementation. Outsourcing Information Systems brings together the papers that combined contribute a detailed understanding of how outsourcing of IS and back office functions has developed, and is likely to develop, the theories that can be applied to this field of study, the mistakes committed and learning achieved, and insights into what really does work.

Leslie Willcocks and Mary Lacity have carefully selected in-depth analyses of the major forms of sourcing and related managerial practices from rigorously researched and objective sources based in the academic literature to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date resource for researchers and practioners both.

VOLUME I: MAKING IT OUTSOURCING DECISIONS
1.1 Theoretical Perspectives
Theoretical Perspectives on the Outsourcing of Information Systems - M. Cheon, V. Grover and J. Teng
Global Disaggregation of Information-Intensive Services - U. Apte and R. Mason
Interpreting Information Technology Sourcing Decisions from a Transaction Cost Perspective - M. Lacity and L. Willcocks
Findings and critique
Complexities in IS Sourcing - B. Marcolin and A. Ross
Equifinality and relationship management
1.2 Determinants of IT Outsourcing
Determinants of Information Technology Outsourcing - L. Loh and N. Venkatraman
A cross-sectional analysis
Research Report - Q. Hu, C. Saunders and M. Gebelt
Diffusion of information systems outsourcing
A reevaluation of influence sources
Production and Transaction Economies and IS Outsourcing - S. Ang and D. Straub
A study of the U.S. banking industry
The Determinants of Total IT Outsourcing - J. Barthélemy and D. Geyer
An empirical investigation of french and german firms
Financial Performance, CEO Compensation, and Large-Scale Information Technology Outsourcing Decisions - J. Hall and S. Liedtka
Bringing Back IT - D. Whitten and D. Leidner
An analysis of the decision to backsource or switch vendors
1.3 IT Outsourcing Strategy
The Value of Selective IT Sourcing - M. Lacity, L. Willcocks and D. Feeny
Strategic Intent for IT Outsourcing - A. DiRomualdo and V. Gurbaxani
IT Outsourcing in Insurance Services - L. Willcocks and M. Lacity
Risk, creative contracting, and business advantage
The Market¿s Perception of the Transactional Risks of Information Technology Outsourcing Announcements - W. Oh, M. Gallivan and J. Kim
Firm Strategic Profile and IT Outsourcing - B. Aubert, G. Beaurivage, A.M. Croteau and S. Rivard
Strategic Dependence on the IT Resource and Outsourcing - D. Straub, P. Weill and K Schwaig
A test of the strategic control model
VOLUME II: MANAGING OUTSOURCING RELATIONSHIPS
2.1 Determinants of Success
The Role of Trust in Outsourced IS Development Projects - R. Sabherwal
The Effect of Service Quality and Partnership on the Outsourcing of Information Systems Functions - V. Grover, M. Cheon and J. Teng
An Empirical Investigation of Information Technology Sourcing Practices - M. Lacity, and L. Willcocks
Lessons from experience
Do Formal Contracts and Relational Governance Function as Substitutes or Complements? - L. Poppo and T. Zenger
IT Outsourcing Strategies - J. Lee, S. Miranda and Y Kim
Universalistic, Contingency, and Configurational Explanations of Success
The Impact of Process Standardization on Business Process Outsourcing Success - K. Wullenweber, D. Beimborn, T. Weitzel and W. Konig
2.2 Client Capabilities
IT Outsourcing and Core IS Capabilities - L. Willcocks and D. Feeny
Challenges at lessons at DuPont
Critical Capabilities for Offshore Outsourcing of IS - C. Ranganathan and S. Balaji
2.3 Supplier Capabilities and Perspectives
The Role of Vendor Companies in IS/IT Outsourcing - A. Pinnington and P. Woolcock
From the Vendor¿s Perspective - N. Levina and J. Ross
Exploring the value proposition in information technology outsourcing
Taking the Measure of Outsourcing Providers - D. Feeny, M. Lacity and L. Willcocks
Contracts in Offshore Software Development - A. Gopal, K. Sivaramakrishnan, M. Krishnan and T. Mukhopadhyay
An empirical analysis
Managing Dispersed Expertise in IT Offshore Outsourcing - I. Oshri, J. Kotlarsky and L. Willcocks
Lessons from Tata Consultancy Services
2.4 Relationship Management
The Australian Federal Government¿s Clustered-agency IT Outsourcing Experiment - P.B. Seddon
Exploring Relationships in Information Technology Outsourcing - T. Kern and L. Willcocks
The interaction approach
Portfolios of Control in Outsourced Software Development Projects - V. Choudhury and R. Sabherwal
A Relationship Perspective on IT Outsourcing - R. Kishore, H.R. Rao, K. Nam, S. Rajagopalan and A. Chaudhury
VOLUME III: GLOBAL OUTSOURCING ISSUES AND TRENDS
3.1 Workforce Issues
Employment Outsourcing in Information Systems - S. A. Slaughter and S. Ang
The Information Technology Workforce Trends and Implications 2005-2008 - P. Zwieg et al
The Politics and Economics of Offshore Outsourcing - N.G Mankiw and P. Swagel
Offshoring and its Implications for the Information Systems Discipline - R. Hirschheim, C. Loebbecke, M. Newman and J. Valor
Where perception meets reality
3.2 Offshore Outsourcing
The Role of Software Processes and Communication in Offshore Software Development - A. Gopal, T. Mukhopadhyay and M. Krishnan
Proven Practices for Effectively Offshoring IT Work - J. Rottman and M. Lacity
Why Nearshore Means That Distance Matters - E. Carmel and P. Abbott
Developing a Knowledge-based Perspective on Coordination - J. Kotlarsky, P. van Fenema and L. Willcocks
The case of Global Software Projects
Operational Capabilities Development in Mediated Offshore Software Service Models - S. Jarvenppaa and J. Mao
Offshore Middlemen - V. Mahnke, J. Wareham and N. Bjorn-Andersen
Transnational intermediation in technology sourcing
Explaining Variations in Client Extra Costs Between Software Projects Offshored to India - J. Dibbern, J. Winkler and A. Heinzl
3.3 Application Service Provision
Application Service Provision - T. Kern, L. Willcocks and M. Lacity
Risk assessment and risk mitigation
What Drives Netsourcing Decisions? An empirical analysis - C. Loebbecke and C. Huyskens
Understanding the Service Component of Application Service Provision - A. Susarla, A. Barua and A. B. Whinston
An empirical analysis of satisfaction with ASP services
3.4 Past, Present, and Future of Global IT Sourcing
The Enterprise Capability Organization - M. McDonald
A future for IT
Global Outsourcing of Back Office Services - M. Lacity, L. Willcocks and J. Rottman
Lessons, trends and enduring challenges